PARIS — Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen warned that democratic values and territorial integrity will guide his country’s talks with the United States over any future deal about the Arctic island.

“We have some red lines we cannot cross but, from a Greenlandic perspective, we will try to sort out some sort of agreement,” he said alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Paris. “We have been working with the U.S. for many years now.”

Tensions between Europe and the U.S. have cooled after President Donald Trump appeared to back down on his threats to take over the self-ruling Danish territory. Instead, he said he agreed on a framework to reach an agreement with Greenland during talks last week with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Switzerland.

“Denmark is a sovereign state and it is one of the most basic democratic rules and values that territorial integrity has to be valued,” Frederiksen said during a conference at the Sciences Po Institute in Paris. “And next to that, don’t threaten an ally.”

Frederiksen and Nielsen are in Paris for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron after they held talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Nielsen painted a stark picture of the Greenlandic perspective as talks with the U.S. unfold.

“We are under pressure, serious pressure … as Greenland leaders, we have to deal with people who are afraid and scared,” he said.

“Imagine you are living in peace, you are a loyal partner, loyal to the alliance … and then some of your partners talk about taking, acquiring, and don’t rule out taking weapons,” he added.

Frederiksen also warned that Europeans need to look beyond Greenland and consider the bigger picture of Washington’s changing relationship with the continent.